When you live in a nation like India -- with its vast landmass, varied people and ancient history -- it's quite possible that there are many things you may not know about her.
In this series, we hope to satisfy your curiosity with interesting nuggets of information about India.

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Tuesday, June 10, 2014

As you all know, the maker of India's Ambassador
car has suspended production, citing debt and lack of demand for the
iconic vehicle which came to define the country's political class.

The good old
Hindustan Ambassador car was voted as the world’s best taxi in the
Beaulieu’s World of Top Gear, a global automotive programme aired on the
BBC in 2013. The Top Gear-organised show saw India’s Amby beat its competitors from all over the world.

The Hindustan Ambassador was a car manufactured by Hindustan Motors of India. It has been in production since 1958 with few improvements or changes and is based on the Morris Oxford III model, first made by the Morris Motors Limited at Cowley, Oxford in the United Kingdom from 1956 to 1959. Despite its British origins, the Ambassador is considered as a
definitive Indian car and is fondly called "The grand old lady of Indian
roads". Some prominent Indian politicians, such as Sonia Gandhi, use the Hindustan Ambassador. It reigned the Indian roads till the arrival of the Maruti in the 1980s and later the other global competitors.

Though on a steady
decline (only 3,390 units sold in 2012-13), it continued to be the
favourite of taxi operators and government officials.

I don't claim the information to be my own. It has been collected from various sources